Derby city centre Pride Park car park mooted as new headquarters for Great British Railways
A city car park is being put forward as a “possible location” for the new Derby-based headquarters of Great British Railways, according to planning documents.
The owner of land at Hudson Way, Pride Park has applied to Derby City Council to keep it running as a car park for at least the next two years while a permanent use is explored.
The car park is situated close to the Pride Park entrance of Derby Midland Station and has been running for such use for several years and can be used on Derby County match days.
A statement to the council says the land has been marketed for more than 16 years in order to attract a long-term occupier with an employment use.
In 2023, it was announced Derby was chosen as the home of the new Great British Railways (GBR) organisation. The public body is to be responsible for running trains across the country, including timetables and fares.
Last year, it was reported the GBR’s transition team had moved into temporary offices “ahead of finding a permanent home”. The new permanent location of the HQ has not yet been announced.
A Derby City Council spokesperson said this week: “We are working closely with the GBR transition team to assist them in their process to identify a preferred location for the HQ.”
The planning documents surrounding the car park, submitted to the city council this week, show that the site has been on the market for more than 10 years. It says that “economic headwinds continue to make the redevelopment of the site challenging”.
The plan is to keep the land use as a car park for another two years while a permanent use is still explored. And it is being considered as a potential place for the new GBR headquarters.
The statement said: “The site has been put forward as a possible location for the new headquarters for Great British Railways and will be promoted as a strategic location.”
The revenue generated from parking sales is used to “off-set holding costs and to pay for the promotion of the site as a permanent employment use”.
The planning statement adds: “The continued use of the site as a temporary car park is essential to generate income in order to defray holding costs and is a sensible approach during these times of economic uncertainty.”
This comes at a time when the council has recently carried out a public consultation on plans to regenerate the “Station Quarter” of Derby. This includes major plans to transform both sides of Derby Midland Station.
A masterplan image was recently released by the Labour-led council showed its futuristic vision for the area. This includes the creation of a new walkway from the entrance of the station to Midland Road, new entrance and signage to the existing Derby Midland Station, new apartments and office space and a multi-storey car park on the Pride Park side.